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ELI TOMAC
450 MX / 1ST
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / HARNISHFEGER DESIGN / TILLS
>> One weekend ago at Red Bud Eli Tomac did his best to officially reassert himself as the man to beat in the 450 class. He totally dominated the field with his 1-1 perfor- mance and built a thirteen point points lead over his rival Blake Baggett. He had to have been licking his chops seeing Southwick next on the schedule because that is arguably his best track and the perfect race to sustain the momentum he has garnered in recent weeks.
After a 1-1 performance at Southwick last year, Tomac picked up right where he left off in qualifying practice this year by throwing down the fastest lap time by two full sec- onds. He was clearly ready to keep things rolling and notch another 1-1 performance.
The gate dropped in moto one and Tomac roared into the sandy first corner. He emerged in tenth and did not take long making his way forward. He would pass his way all the way up to third by the end of the opening lap. He continued by passing Weston Peick for second and then easily passing his title rival Blake Baggett for the lead on lap three. From there Tomac rode a flawless race. Put down lap times much faster than the rest of the pack en route to a fairly easy victory. He was halfway to the repeat entering moto two.
Tomac did not get off to as good of a start as he did in the first moto in moto two. However, he still managed to claw his way into sixth position when they got the green flag. He would quickly hop up to third by lap three and put the pressure on Baggett. It took a few laps this time but Tomac would once again get by and then set his sights on the leader Marvin Musquin. Tomac caught him quickly but he and Musquin would have a great battle. Musquin gave Tomac everything he could handle but eventually suc- cumbed to the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider. Tomac got the lead at the halfway point and did not look back. He would end up winning convincingly and yet again go 1-1 at Southwick. Nineteen points up on Baggett heading into the one week break should have Eli Tomac feeling pretty happy and in control of the series.
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GRITMOTO • JULY 9, 2017